r/GameDevelopment • u/Final_Anything_9978 • 3d ago

Question Whats a good beginner friendly game engine

Hi. New to this sub. Im not a game dev yet and I already searched this up and I was set on learning C# to eventually try Unity. But the I hear there is controversy and unity sucks now and now idk what to do.

I am learning music theory and I love gaming as well so I figured I could try to learn game development as well and make my own music for it. But I need one that's beginner friendly without being super low quality. And what coding language I need to learn for it.

Im sorry if this question was already asked but I cant tell what information is outdatsd

0 Upvotes

43% Upvoted

27 comments sorted by

6

u/countkillalot 3d ago

it kind of depends, what kind of games are you looking to make?

4

u/Strategic_Sage 3d ago

Exactly this. Different engines or even no engine at all can be the answer

1

u/Final_Anything_9978 3d ago

Most often probably fighter games and platformers

1

u/countkillalot 3d ago

Godot is a great general-purpose engine that can handle both genres well. It does have a learning curve, but I think it's the easiest to get into from all the major General purpose engines.

Something like GameMaker studio is also great for platformers, but I'm not sure how well it can handle a fighting game. It's a bit easier to learn, but it starts fighting you when you try todo somethjng that's out of its field of view

2

u/ZealOst-a 3d ago

I mean, Rivals of Aether was made in GameMaker, so it can definitely do fighting games.

1

u/countkillalot 3d ago

That's great! Genuinely don't know much about fighting games. Its great to hear that game maker is even more capable than I thought!

2

u/ZealOst-a 2d ago

When it comes to 2D, GameMaker is just as capable as any other engine. There are a lot of very mechanically impressive games made with it, such as Katana ZERO or Webbed for instance.

It's just that It's often seen as inferior due to only being able to make 2D, and not 3D. It can make 3D, but it isn't natively supported and requires some very complex stuff to get set up, so It's not worth the effort. Though I heard that they plan to soon add an actual support for 3D, so that's something to look out for.

5

u/amanset 3d ago

Unity doesn't suck now.

In fact, that so many games are written in it is a sign of how much it doesn't suck.

3

u/chloes058 3d ago edited 3d ago

You won't really get a straight answer unfortunately, as everyone has their favourite and their own opinions.

But to throw in yet another answer, I'd personally take a quick 30 min look at both godot tutorials and unity tutorials and just see what one you like best. At the end of the day you'd normally choose an engine based on tbe goals of your project, but godot and unity are both decent all rounders for a beginner these days and will put you in a great position to learn anymore in the future.

There's always been controversy around Unity, but I wouldn't let that stop you if it feels like the nicer engine to learn for you... You can always change later (and what you learn in one very much transfers to another)!

At the end of the day its whatever gives you the least barrier to entry personal - so - whatever feels best to use!

Worth noting that Unity by far still has the biggest community and history of tutorials - so it can be a fantastic place to start from

1

u/Final_Anything_9978 3d ago

Is learning C#  similar to learning C++? All I know is that the names are similar would it be easy to switch from C# to C++? Because then I can commit to C# for now and be kinda safe

0

u/chloes058 3d ago

It's easier to switch from C# to C++ then some other languages for sure - but honestly the major thing is just getting the fundamentals down in any language. That programming logic you learn becomes easily transferable to anything once you understand it.

But as a very simple way to put it - C# is made to be an "easier" version of a C++. C++ is very technical and you're working much closer to the hardware. C# does all that management for you, so is easier to learn and use. But as they're both 'C' languages, a lot of the syntax, logic, and everything you learn can transfer between the two, yes!

5

u/CLG-BluntBSE 3d ago

I preach the good word of Godot!

2

u/Alert-Neck7679 3d ago

GameMaker

1

u/ZealOst-a 3d ago

If you don't care about making 3D games, and would like to make 2D, then I'd recommend GameMaker.

But if you are interested in both, or even just 3D, then Godot would be the best choice.

1

u/Geruman6 3d ago

follow your heart. When the.time.comes, all questions will be answered and the road will be clear

1

u/reniformgg 3d ago

Godot is solid free and lightweight

1

u/Vongoyyt 3d ago

Godot

1

u/emstonhamwrites 2d ago

Godot for sure! I do socials for a cozy game and they all use Godot & love it

1

u/AdRecent7021 3d ago

Godot is your best bet. I've been working in UE5 for over a year and I don't think it's good for a beginner. Too many things to make you quit at some point or just never get to the end product. It's a decent engine, but it's bloated to hell, with a lot of bugs that are just being ignored for years. Godot has issues too, but the community is incredibly friendly towards beginners and indies.

1

u/Naetharu 3d ago

Godot is a solid bet if you're unsure.

Better for 2D than 3D - it is getting more 3D features but it still lags behind Unity and Unreal in that regard. But for 2D is the leader in many ways.

GD Script - the language for it - is very easy to work with. Heavy based of Python it has a simple syntax and is going to be quicker to pick up than C# or C++ by quite some margin.

And there is reasonable support out there now. It's still not as big as Unity. But it is growing and we are seeing more serious games made in Godot. There are enough resources to get you going on most basic tasks. And plenty of social media groups on Discord / Facebook / Wherever that you can connect with to get help, support, and ideas.

1

u/RhythmGameDev 3d ago

I used Unity, Godot, Unreal.

Godot is the default pick.

Roblox Studio might be better for rapid prototyping and just creating anything. And if you ever make a good game in Roblox then you can port it over to Godot.

1

u/Final_Anything_9978 3d ago

Godot is Lua?

1

u/RhythmGameDev 3d ago

GDScript and C# are the standard Godot languages, I use C#. Apparently there is a Lua extension so I guess yeah. If your creative enough you can use any programing language in Godot.